The popular saying “What would Jesus do?” suggests many devout Christians use Jesus precisely as a shoulder advisor—no doubt frequently & with intense seriousness. Hence they may well have useful insights into the technique.
Also:
It’s important to be clear that the experience of “hearing the voices” actually happens, in many people. This is not a metaphor, and it is not hyperbole or exaggeration. I’m not saying that people tend to hallucinate actual sounds—that probably would be schizophrenia.
I read a book about Jaynes’ bicameral mind theory which mentioned research in the 1980s into shoulder advisers (in effect) of institutionalised paraplegics. It seems many paraplegics, who couldn’t move since birth, and I think couldn’t speak either, had frequent auditory hallucinations of a person, often known to them (eg a parent), who would regularly talk to them, providing commentary, advice, comfort or criticism. They would hear this as a seemingly real, external voice (but not visible). Similar I assume to schizophrenics hearing voices. The book gave this as evidence of remnants of the bicameral mind in modern humans.
Great post. Two comments:
The popular saying “What would Jesus do?” suggests many devout Christians use Jesus precisely as a shoulder advisor—no doubt frequently & with intense seriousness. Hence they may well have useful insights into the technique.
Also:
I read a book about Jaynes’ bicameral mind theory which mentioned research in the 1980s into shoulder advisers (in effect) of institutionalised paraplegics. It seems many paraplegics, who couldn’t move since birth, and I think couldn’t speak either, had frequent auditory hallucinations of a person, often known to them (eg a parent), who would regularly talk to them, providing commentary, advice, comfort or criticism. They would hear this as a seemingly real, external voice (but not visible). Similar I assume to schizophrenics hearing voices. The book gave this as evidence of remnants of the bicameral mind in modern humans.
Yeah, the bicameral mind stuff was definitely in my thoughts as I explored this concept explicitly over the past few years.